The country was very lovely just then—it was summer.The wheat was golden and the oats still green.The hay was stacked in the rich low meadows，where the stork marched about on his long red legs，chattering in Egyptian，the language his mother had taught him.
Round about field and meadow lay great woods，in the midst of which were deep lakes.Yes，the country certainly was lovely.In the sunniest spot stood an old mansion surrounded by a deep moat，and great dock leaves grew from the walls of the house right down to the water's edge.Some of them were so tall that a small child could stand upright under them.In among the leaves it was as secluded as in the depths of a forest，and there a duck was sitting on her nest.Her little ducklings were just about to be hatched，but she was quite tired of sitting，for it had lasted such a long time.Moreover，she had very few visitors，as the other ducks liked swimming about in the moat better than waddling up to sit under the dock leaves and gossip with her.
At last one egg after another began to crack.“Cheep，cheep！”they said.All the chicks had come to life and were poking their heads out.
“Quack，quack！”said the duck，and then they all quacked their hardest and looked about them on all sides among the green leaves.Their mother allowed them to look as much as they liked，for green is good for the eyes.
“How big the world is，to be sure！”said all the young ones.They certainly now had ever so much more room to move about than when they were inside their eggshells.
“Do you imagine this is the whole world？”said the mother.“It stretches a long way on the other side of the garden，right into the parson's field，though I have never been as far as that.I suppose you are all here now？”She got up and looked about.“No，I declare I have not got you all yet！The biggest egg is still there.How long is this going to take？”she said，and settled herself on the nest again.
“Well，how are you getting on？”said an old duck who had come to pay her a visit.
“This one egg is taking such a long time！”answered the sitting duck.“The shell will not crack.But now you must look at the others.They are the finest ducklings I have ever seen.They are all exactly like their father，the rascal！—yet he never comes to see me.”
“Let me look at the egg which won't crack，”said the old duck.“You may be sure that it is a turkey's egg！I was cheated like that once and I had no end of trouble and worry with the creatures，for I may tell you that they are afraid of the water.I simply could not get them into it.I quacked and snapped at them，but it all did no good.Let me see the egg！Yes，it is a turkey's egg.You just leave it alone，and teach the other children to swim.”
“I will sit on it a little longer.I have sat so long already that I may as well go on till the Midsummer Fair comes round.”
“Please yourself，”said the old duck，and away she went.
At last the big egg cracked.“Cheep，cheep！”said the young one and tumbled out.How big and ugly he was！The duck looked at him.
“That is a monstrous big duckling，”she said.“None of the others looked like that.Can he be a turkey chick？Well，we shall soon find that out.Into the water he shall go，if I have to kick him in myself.”
The next day was gloriously fine，and the sun shone on all the green dock leaves.The mother duck with her whole family went down to the moat.
Splash！into the water she sprang.“Quack，quack，”she said，and one duckling after another plumped in.The water dashed over their heads，but they came up again and floated beautifully.Their legs went of themselves，and they were all there.Even the big ugly gray one swam about with them.
“No，that is no turkey，”she said.“See how beautifully he uses his legs and how erect he holds himself.He is my own chick，after all，and not bad looking when you come to look at him properly.Quack，quack！Now come with me and I will take you out into the world and introduce you to the duckyard.But keep close to me all the time so that no one may tread upon you.And beware of the cat！”
Then they went into the duckyard.There was a fearful uproar going on，for two broods were fighting for the head of an eel，and in the end the cat captured it.
“That's how things go in this world，”said the mother duck.She licked her bill，because she wanted the eel's head herself.
“Now use your legs，”said she.“Mind you quack properly，and bend your necks to the old duck over there.She is the grandest of us all.She has Spanish blood in her veins and that accounts for her size.And do you see？She has a red rag round her leg.That is a wonderfully fine thing，and the most extraordinary mark of distinction any duck can have.It shows clearly that she is not to be parted with，and that she is worthy of recognition both by beasts and men！Quack，now！Don't turn your toes in！A well-brought-up duckling keeps his legs wide apart just like father and mother.That's it.Now bend your necks and say quack！”
They did as they were bid，but the other ducks round about looked at them and said，quite loud，“Just look there！Now we are to have that tribe，just as if there were not enough of us already.And，oh dear，how ugly that duckling is！We won't stand him.”And a duck flew at him at once and bit him in the neck.
“Let him be，”said the mother.“He is doing no harm.”
“Very likely not，”said the biter.“But he is so ungainly and queer that he must be whacked.”
“Those are handsome children mother has，”said the old duck with the rag round her leg.“They are all good looking except this one.He is not a good specimen.It's a pity you can't make him over again.”
